PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas - Prairie View A&M guard Carl Blair hit 1-of-2 free throws with 5.95 seconds remaining to break a tie and lift the Panthers to an 81-80 win against the University of Houston Men's Basketball team on Wednesday night inside the William Nicks Building.

The loss spoiled a valiant comeback by the Cougars who tied the game at 80-80 with 21 seconds left when redshirt freshman guard Jherrod Stiggers buried a 3-pointer from the right wing.

With the shot clock off, Blair waited and drove the lane before being fouled by the Cougars with just under six seconds left. After missing his first attempt and a Houston timeout, Blair connected on his second try to give the Panthers the lead for good.

The Cougars inbounded the ball and raced down the court, but sophomore guard Joseph Young's shot at the buzzer was off the mark.

The Panthers appeared to have the game under control after Rasi Jenkins' jumper with 1:11 remaining gave them an 80-75 lead. However, sophomore point guard J.J. Thompson drove the lane and laid it up in win to pull the Cougars to within 80-77.

Following a Houston timeout, Prairie View A&M's Jourdan DeMuynck worked the clock down but was called for a charge, breathing life into the Cougars, with 31 seconds to go. Ten seconds later, Stiggers knotted the game at 80-80 with his second and final 3-pointer of the night.

The teams went back and forth throughout the game in an offensive slugfest. Both teams shot higher than 48 percent from the field with the Cougars coming out just on top at 49.1 percent. Houston also made frequents attempts to the free throw line, hitting 25-of-35 attempts, while Prairie View was limited to 20 free throw tries in the game.

Houston dropped its first game of the season to fall to 5-1. The Cougars were looking to become only the fourth team in school history to start 6-0. Prairie View A&M improved to 4-5 with the win.

Sophomore forward TaShawn Thomas led the Cougars with 23 points and 11 rebounds for his team-leading fourth double-double of the season through the first six games. Freshman forward Danuel House also made his presence felt, scoring a career-high 20 points with three rebounds and a steal.

House, a highly recruited prospect out of Hightower High, became the third Cougar this season to post 20 points in a game, joining Thomas, Young and senior forward Leon Gibson.

Young finished with 15 points, four rebounds and two assists with three turnovers. The three giveaways were the Houston native and Yates High product's first of the season through six games.

Stiggers finished with 12 points, two rebounds and a pair of steals for the Cougars.

Prairie View A&M's Jourdan DeMuynck led all players with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting and added seven rebounds with four assists. Blair totaled 15 points with four rebounds and a game-high 10 assists, while Josh Eleby tied for team-high honors with seven boards.

NOTES
 Sophomore forward TaShawn Thomas made the 36th start of his career.... That streak encompasses every game of his collegiate career.
 Wednesday's game was the Cougars' first game against Prairie View A&M since Nov. 29, 2006.. It was only the team's second visit to Prairie View A&M and the first since Jan. 17, 2002.UP NEXT
The Cougars return to the friendly confines of Hofheinz Pavilion when they meet SEC member Texas A&M at 5:30 p.m., Saturday. That game will be shown live on FOX Sports Net with Ron Thulin calling the play-by-play action, Mike Gminski providing analysis and Jenn Hildreth reporting from the sideline.

Fans should note the later starting time for Saturday's game against Texas A&M. Saturday's tip time recently was pushed back to 5:30 p.m., from earlier published schedules to best accommodate fans and the television broadcast.

TICKETS INFORMATION
Single-game tickets for all remaining home games and a variety of ticket packs to suit any budget are on sale now.

To purchase tickets, fans can call 713-GO-COOGS (462-6647) or 877-COUGAR-5 (268-4275) or visit the Athletics Ticket Office, located on the first floor of the Athletics/Alumni Center from 8 a.m., to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, or by online at UHCougars.com.

Fans can buy tickets 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by clicking the red and white Tickets tab at UHCougars.com and following the appropriate links or by clicking here.

To secure parking spaces and to support student-athlete scholarships through Cougar Pride for the upcoming season, fans should contact Cougar Pride at 713-743-GOUH or email cougarpride@uh.edu. Fans also can visit UHCougars.com and click the Cougar Pride tab for more information or click here.